Electrocoating composition with polyhydroxyamine and epoxy

ABSTRACT

A cathodic electrocoating composition containing a polyhydroxyamine dispersant and an epoxy reacted with an entity such as a fatty amine and optionally a crosslinker polymer.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.106,258 filed Dec. 21, 1979, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to copolymers and compositions suitablefor cathodic electrodeposition of polymeric coatings. Furthermore, itrelates to a method of cathodic electrodeposition of such copolymers.

It is known that organic coatings can be electrodeposited either on ananodically-charged conducting substrate or on a cathodically-chargedsubstrate. Although most of the earlier work in electrodeposition wasdone with anodic deposition, that type of process has certaindisadvantages. Anodic electrodeposition is normally done in a coatingbath having a basic pH. The pH decreases at the surface being coated,creating conditions which, when combined with the electrolytic action ofthe coating bath, can cause the dissolution of substrate metal ions andtheir subsequent deposition in the coatings being formed. This can be asource of staining and diminished corrosion resistance. Also,electrolysis tends to attack preformed phosphate coatings on the anode.Furthermore, oxygen formed at the anodic substrate being coated cancause a variety of difficulties such as degradation of coatings byoxidation.

Electro-endoosmosis tends to expel water from anodic coatings beingformed, leading to low water retention with about 85-95% solids in thecoatings. This is an advantage over cathodic coating in which thisphenomenon would not be expected to be helpful. (Parts and percentagesherein are by weight except where indicated otherwise.)

Cathodic electrodeposition has developed more slowly, due in part to theusually acidic pH of the bath. Also, water tends to be drawn into thecoatings and held there, along with acid residues from the bath. It isapparent that this can lead to difficulties in the coatings. In contrastto the oxygen formed at anodes in anodic electrodeposition, hydrogen isformed at the cathode in cathodic electrodeposition. Even though thishydrogen can cause pinholes in coatings, it, of course, does not causeoxidative film degradation.

Processes and compositions for the cathodic electrodeposition of paintsare described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,345,543--Wohnsiedler, et al. (1944),which uses a cationic melamine-formaldehyde resin, and in U.S. Pat. No.3,922,212--Gilchrist (1975), among others. Gilchrist is directed to aprocess for supplementing the bath composition with a make-up mixture ofmaterials containing an ionizing acid that is not consumed at as fast arate as the resin. The acid is present in the make-up at lowerconcentrations than are used in the bath, so as not to build up theconcentration of the acid in the bath. Gilchrist uses particularaminoalcohol esters of polycarboxylic acids and discloses that acrylicpolymers can be codeposited with zinc phosphate from solution on acathodic substrate at low pH's such as 2.7 with phosphoric acid orvolatile organic acids as the ionizing acid. Higher pH levels would bedesirable for minimizing corrosion of coating equipment, especially ifvolatile nonpassivating acids are used for solubilization instead ofphosphoric acid.

Two U.S. patents dealing with nitrogen-based copolymers and theircathodic electrodeposition are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,455,806 and 3,458,420,both to Spoor, et al. (1969). Cathodic sulfonium systems are describedby Wessling et al. on pages 110-127 of "Electrodeposition of Coatings,"Ed. E. F. Brewed, American Chemical Society (1973).

Electrodeposition processes have been frequently described in theliterature. Two useful reviews of the technology are: "Electro-paintingPrinciples and Process Variables," Brower, Metal Finishing, September,1976, p. 58; and "Coatings Update: Electrocoating," Americus, Pigmentand Resin Technology, August, 1976, p. 17.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,499--Hazan, issued Sept. 11, 1979, discloses acrylicpolyamine copolymers with fatty acids and epoxy esters for use incathodic electrocoating. U.S. Pat. No. 3,869,366--Suzuki, et al.,discloses cathodic electrocoating systems having a cationic acrylicepoxy amine resin to codeposit nonionic powders.

Cathodic electrocoating systems are based on alkaline cationic resinsthat are solubilized or dispersed in water with the aid of an acid. Inorder to minimize corrosion of tank construction materials, it has beenthe aim of the industry to develop technology that will result incathodic systems that are stable in water at close to neutral pH. Thiscould be achieved by incorporating in the cationic resin strong alkalinefunctionality such as quarternary ammonium salts, primary or secondaryamines, or combinations thereof and solubilizing the resin in water byneutralizing the amine with a weak acid--usually an organic acid.Because of the high basicity of the deposited film, one of the majorproblems in the development of such cathodic systems has been to obtainadequate cure, using conventional aminoplasts as crosslinking agents, atrelatively low temperatures of 150°-175° C., which are important forvarious applications such as in the automotive industry. The difficultyin obtaining adequate cure is caused by the fact that the crosslinkingof conventional aminoplasts of the melamine benzoguanamine or ureaformaldehyde type requires acid catalysis and is strongly inhibited by abasic environment. For this reason, technologies have been developed forcathodic systems that use partially or fully blocked isocyanates as thecuring agents. The crosslinking of isocyanates is base-catalysed andrequires a basic environment. Isocyanate crosslinking has severalshortcomings, including the need for unusually high temperature orcatalysts to unblock the isocyanate, high cost, and toxicity of rawmaterials and possibly of oven effluent during bake. It has been feltthat the cathodic electrocoating technology will be at a disadvantage ifit is restricted to such mechanisms of cure.

None of the prior art provides a fully-satisfactory composition forcathodic electrocoating at nearly neutral pH with the ability to cure atrelatively low temperatures and times, with or without a crosslinkingagent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an aqueous coating composition comprisinga first polymer, a second polymer and optionally a nitrogen resincrosslinker, said coating composition containing, by weight based on thefirst and second polymers, about 20-70% of a first polymer which is acopolymer comprising a backbone and a graft pendent to the backbone,said backbone containing amine functional groups and hydroxy functionalgroups, characterized in that said backbone contains at least about 0.13equivalent of amine groups per 100 grams of first polymer and at leastabout 0.03 equivalent of hydroxyl groups per 100 grams of first polymer,and containing, by weight, the equivalent of about:

(a) 35-90% amine functional monomers,

(b) 10-60% hydroxy functional monomers,

(c) 0-40% nonfunctional acrylic or methacrylic monomers, and

(d) 0-5% chain-terminating monomers the total of (a), (b), (c) and (d)being 100% of said backbone,

said graft comprising a monoglycidyl ester of at least one tertiarycarboxylic acid containing 9-20 carbon atoms and being grafted to saidamine groups in said backbone, said copolymer containing about 1-30% byweight of said graft,

and, by weight based on the first and second polymers, about 80-30% of asecond polymer which is an epoxy resin reacted with, based on the weightof said second polymer, about 80-150% of an entity selected from thegroup consisting of alkyl phenols, alkyl alcohols and alkyl hydroxyethers, with 1-20 carbon atoms in the alkyl groups, hydroxyamines, fattyamines and mercaptans.

In more preferred embodiments of the invention, the first polymers arecopolymers which consist essentially of, by weight, about:

(a) 40-60% amine functional monomers,

(b) 15-40% hydroxy functional monomers,

(c) 5-20% nonfunctional acrylic or methacrylic monomers, and

(d) 0.5-3% chain-terminating monomers selected from mercaptoethanol anddodecylmercaptan

said polymer containing at least about 0.25 equivalent of amine groupsper 100 grams of polymer and at least about 0.15 equivalent of hydroxylgroups per 100 grams of polymer.

The first polymer of a preferred embodiment contains, by weight, about:

(a) 59% tertbutyl ethyl amino methacrylate,

(b) 28% hydroxy ethyl methacrylate,

(c) 12% ethyl acrylate, and

(d) 1% mercaptoethanol,

said polymer containing about 0.32 equivalent amine groups per 100 gramsof polymer and about 0.22 equivalent hydroxyl groups per 100 grams ofpolymer.

Other embodiments of the invention also contain 0-30% of a glycidylester of at least one tertiary carboxylic acid containing 9-11 carbonatoms, preferably about 25%. The glycidyl ester is reacted with theamine functionality of the hydroxy amine copolymer described above, toform a graft copolymer. The percentages are by weight based on theacrylic polyamine copolymer.

Compositions of the invention can be formulated to make coatingcompositions with a nitrogen resin crosslinker, preferablybenzoguanamine, urea-formaldehyde or melamine-formaldehyde resins; as anionizing agent, organic or inorganic acid, preferably lactic, acetic,succinic, citric or phosphoric acids, present in an amount to give a pHof 6.0 to 7.0; and a liquid carrier, preferably an aqueous liquidcarrier. Since the copolymers described above can crosslink themselveseffectively, the nitrogen resin crosslinker can be omitted.

Although compositions of the invention are mainly intended for use incathodic electrocoating, they can also be used in other ways such as forcompositions to be applied by spraying or other conventional techniques.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides basically a universal polymeric cationicdispersant which can be used as such for cathodic electrodeposition, orit can be used to codisperse major portions of hydrophobic auxiliarypolymers in an aqueous electrocoating formulation. This can be donewithout undesirably high molecular weights which would interfere withflow of films formed upon curing of the coatings.

The polymer of this invention is preferably used as a backbone polymerwith a graft on it of a glycidyl ester of a carboxylic acid, such as"Cardura E" produced by Shell Chemical Co. The resulting graftcopolymer, which is the preferred polymeric dispersant, can be used toadvantage in a formulation with a codispersed phase of an epoxy resinreacted with an entity selected from the group consisting of alkylphenols, alkyl alcohols and alkyl hydroxy ethers, with 1-20 carbon atomsin the alkyl groups, hydroxyamines, fatty amines and mercaptions. Suchformulations can also advantageously include conventional crosslinkerssuch as benzoguanamine, urea- or melamine-formaldehyde. Although varioustypes of crosslinking can take place in the coating film as it cures,for convenience one can refer to the backbone polymer as the firstpolymer, the graft copolymer as the graft, the selected entity as thesecond polymer, and the conventional crosslinker as the crosslinker.

In addition to or instead of the second polymer discussed above, onecould use acrylic or methacrylic polymers resulting from polymerizationwith the vinyl unsaturation of acrylic or methacrylic acid, saidpolymers having an acid number of about zero and containing hydroxyfunctionality for crosslinking in the curing of coatings made with thecomposition; polyesters or alkyds having an acid number of zero andcontaining hydroxy functionality or vinyl groups for crosslinking in thecuring of coatings made with the composition; or polybutadiene.Polybutadienes are well known in the art, and suitable ones aredescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,106--Kita (1978).

In order to increase the pH of a cathodic electrocoating system withoutadversely affecting the cure response, using conventional aminoplastssuch as benzoguanamine, urea formaldehyde and melamine formaldehyderesins as crosslinkers and obtaining satisfactory cures at about150°-175° C., a new approach in the stabilization of the cathodicdispersion has been undertaken.

This approach minimizes the basicity inside the dispersion particle andmaximizes it on the outside of the particle by controlling the coilingcharacteristics of the cationic polymer. This can be achieved byincorporation of the amine functionality on a flexible hydrophilicbackbone with pendant hydrophobic epoxy ester groups so that most of thebasic groups will be on the outside of the dispersion particle formaximum pH in the water phase and minimum basicity inside the particlefor minimum inhibition of cure response of the deposited film.Hydrophobic epoxy auxiliary polymers can be codispersed by coiling thehydrophilic backbone copolymer of the invention around such pendentauxiliary polymers.

The present invention provides cathodic systems which avoid limitationsof isocyanate systems and have good cure response with conventionalaminoplasts at temperatures of 150°-175° C. Dispersions with a pH of 6-7are used, giving a deposited film with a pH of 7-10. The invention isbased on a hydrophilic/hydrophobic graft system, with the hydrophilicbackbone being a polyamine with hydroxy functionality, with some of thehydroxy groups preferably positioned as terminal hydroxy functionalityat the end of the backbone molecule. Such a polyamine is preferably madefrom vinyl unsaturated acrylate and/or methacrylate esters of acrylicand/or methacrylic acid. This permits good control over the compositionand structure of the backbone for optimum properties.

For optimum performance of the polyamine backbone (better dispersionstability and better film properties of the deposited film), a lowmolecular weight monoepoxy ester of the "Cardura E" type is grafted ontothe polyamine backbone by reacting the epoxy group with part of thesecondary amines on the backbone to form tertiary amine. Preferably, a"Cardura E" monoepoxy ester is used. This is a glycidyl ester of atertiary carboxylic acid containing 9-11 carbon atoms, preferably"Versatic 911" acid. Both are produced by Shell Chemical Co. Unlessstated differently, the acrylic polyamine backbone referred to here as apolymeric dispersant contains the "Cardura E" graft.

The polyamine backbone could also be made from other constituents suchas polypropylene amine and/or polypropylene imine partially reacted withethylene oxide in order to add further hydroxy functionality.

The hydrophobic part that is codispersed with the polyamine backbone ispreferably an epoxy resin that is the reaction product of bisphenol-Aand epichlorohydrin made by Shell Chemical Co., blocked with an entityselected from the group consisting of alkyl phenols, alkyl alcohols andalkyl hydroxy ethers, with 1-20 carbon atoms in the alkyl groups (suchas nonylphenol), hydroxyamines, fatty amines and mercaptans at molarratios of epoxy/blocking agent of 1/0-1/2. The blocked epoxy resin isformed by the reaction of the entity with the epoxy group in thepresence of a catalyst. The codispersion of the epoxy blocked resin withthe polyamine backbone (without grafting it on the backbone) enables usto obtain a system that is in total lower in molecular weight thushaving better electrocoatability and film properties without adverselyaffecting the hydrophilic/hydrophobic principle important for thisinvention as described below.

The advantage of this approach is the ability to use the second polymerwithout it being necessary for it to have grafting sites for itsstabilization in the total system, and any variety of polymers can beused so long as they contain the required amine groups and the hydroxyfunctionality as cross-linking sites.

Desirable characteristics of the hydrophobic/hydrophilic system thatpermit the use of conventional aminoplasts with good cure responseinclude the following:

(a) The hydrophilic backbone, the hydroxy-containing polyamine, acts asa stabilizer (dispersant) by wrapping itself around the hydrophobicportion of the graft copolymer when dispersed in water. This givesmaximum pH in the water phase and maximum dispersion stability withminimum amount of amine functionality. The alkaline functionality ismostly on the outside of the particle, and there is very littleinhibition to cure in the larger hydrophobic portion of the particle,the grafted and codispersed blocked epoxy resin. By crosslinking thehydrophobic portion of the total system with an aminoplast a good cureresponse is obtained of the total system at baking temperatures of150°-177° C. This is partly because the polyamine has aself-crosslinking capability, mainly due to transesterification of thehydroxy functionality with the acrylate esters. Such a reaction iscatalyzed by the strong basic environment caused by the aminefunctionality. The backbone will self-crosslink by the above mechanismreadily at relatively low temperatures of 120°-150° C.

(b) In order to obtain a stable dispersion at pH 6-7, part of the aminefunctionality is primary and/or, preferably, secondary amines. Theminimum desirable amount of such an amine is 0.13-0.39 equivalents per100 grams of backbone.

(c) The hydroxy functionality on the polyamine backbone has a veryimportant role. It contributes the hydrophilicity of the backbone,discussed in (a) above, and it introduces crosslinking sites for bothtransesterification in the preferred acrylic polyamine described in thisinvention and for crosslinking by the aminoplast mechanism. It isdesirable that the backbone have a level of hydroxy functionality of atleast about 0.4 equivalents per amine equivalent in the backbone. Withincreasing amounts of amine, it is desirable also to have increasingamounts of hydroxyl groups because amines would otherwise inhibitcrosslinking.

Preferably the copolymer contains enough glycidyl epoxy to react with0.05 amine equivalents, more preferably about 0.1-0.2 amine equivalents,and sometimes optionally about 0.12 amine equivalents.

A preferred composition of the invention can be made as follows, withthe structural formulae schematically indicated.

The acrylic polyamine backbone is made by copolymerizing, in parts byweight:

12 ethyl acrylate/59 tertiary butyl aminoethyl methacrylate/28hydroxyethyl methacrylate/1 mercaptoethanol. This copolymer is graftedwith "Cardura E" in proportions of 75% copolymer, 25% "Cardura E" togive a backbone of: ##STR1##

This graft copolymer representing the desired composition of theuniversal dispersant is used to codisperse a hydrophobic polymerconsisting of an adduct of Epon 1001 and nonyl phenol at a ratio of1/1-1/1.0 or preferably 1/1.7 and proportions of 43% dispersant, 57%epoxy adduct.

The codispersed reaction product comprises: ##STR2##

For the preferred composition, the acrylic polyamine resin is reactedwith "Cardura E" in a weight ratio of 75 acrylic to 25 "Cardura E".

A coating composition is made from a clear formulation, in parts ofsolids content by weight, of:

67 resin/33 XM 1125 crosslinker, which is neutralized to 50% ofstoichiometric with lactic acid, with water added.

More specifically, one can use 222 parts resin containing thecodispersed diadduct of epoxy and fatty acid, 70 parts XM 1125crosslinker, 9 parts 85% lactic acid, and 1700 parts water.

Coating compositions of the invention can be cathodicallyelectrodeposited either on pretreated metal such as phosphatized steelor on bare metal such as steel which has been cleaned but notphosphatized. It can also be used on other metal substrates containingzinc, such as galvanized steel, as well as on aluminum and variousalloys.

The lack of practical success of several previous cathodicelectrodeposition painting processes is due at least in part to theamount of water that is held in the resin coating and the acids andsalts that are dissolved in that water, not readily removable from thecoating. The water can lead to coating failure by various mechanisms,and the acid residues can encourage subsequent corrosion, eitherdirectly or by providing a hygroscopic material in the coating whichencourages penetration of water and other corrosive agents.

In contrast to the useful effect of electroendoosmosis at the anode inanodic electrodeposition of paint which tends to expel water from ananodic coating, water is not electrically expelled from a cathodiccoating and may actually be drawn into the coating by electrical forces.However, water held in a cathodic coating can be particularlyundesirable. To minimize such effects, the present invention providesresins with a degree of hydrophobicity and hardness or denseness of thecoating which combine to expel water from the coating as the coating isformed.

The desirable effects of the invention are achieved by using certainhydrophobic copolymers that can be considered to be universaldispersants, which contain in their backbone portions hydroxy groups andamine functionality, preferably secondary and/or tertiary. Suchfunctionality introduces an alkaline mechanism of adhesion of the resincoating to the substrate even after heating the deposited coatings tocause them to crosslink. This has been found to improve corrosionresistance of coatings when compared to coatings using an acidicmechanism of adhesion introduced by carboxylic groups such as in ananodic electrocoating system. This is an advantage over cathodic systemsstabilized by onium groups, such as sulfonium and quarternary ammonium,in which hydrophobicity is only developed after thermal decomposition ofthe onium groups. Such delayed hydrophobicity is unavailable forsqueezing water out of a newly formed wet coating. Thermal decompositionof onium groups during crosslinking of the film would also make themunavailable for enhancing adhesion of the resin coating to thesubstrate.

In the process of the invention, although there are advantages in usinglive entry, in which the coating voltage is applied while the articlesto be coated are being immersed into the bath, it will be apparent thatreduced voltage can be applied upon entry if desired for certain specialeffects. However, the additional electrical apparatus required forreduced voltage entry is not normally necessary or desirable. It isdesirable for the coated substrate to be removed from the bath with thecoating voltage still applied or soon after it is turned off.

For operating electrocoating baths of the invention, the tank can belined with an organic coating resistant to the mildy-acidic pH of thebath, and stainless steel or plastic piping and pump parts can be usedto minimize corrosion. However, carbon steel parts and piping usuallycan be used as a material of construction without a corrosion problem.

Ultrafiltration can be used by recirculating the bath components torinse contaminants and drag-out from the coated parts. Either membranesand ordinary flushed anodes or an acid deficient feed can be used, as isknown in the art, to minimize the build-up of acid in the coating bath.

Although an uncoated tank can be used as the anode, in commercialpractice one would normally use stainless steel anodes having a surfacearea smaller than that of the cathodic substrate which is to be coated.This gives a favorable current density distribution.

In the novel electrocoating process, the metal article providing thesubstrate to be coated is immersed in a bath of an electrocoating cell.The bath is an aqueous dispersion of preferably about 2-35% by weight ofa cationic film-forming polymer at least partially neutralized with anorganic acid which is volatile at the temperatures used to crosslink thepaint film. Suitable acids include lactic, acetic, succinic and citricacids. Preferably lactic acid is used in an amount of from 30% of thatrequired for stoichiometric reaction of the hydrogen of the acid withall of the available amine group bonds in the polymer to about 100% ofstoichiometric. It is more preferable to use about 50%. The use of lessthan about 30% of the stoichiometric amount of acid can lead toinstability in the bath. More than 100% can lead to undesirable excessacidity in the bath with consequent corrosion of coating equipment. Thepreferred pH of the coating bath is about 6.5-7.0.

The metal article is connected to the negative side of a direct current(D.C.) power source to become the cathode of the cell. A voltage ofabout 1 to 550 volts is passed through the cell for the full dwell timeof the article in the bath, about 0.01 to 5 minutes, preferably 2minutes, and a coating of the cationic polymer is deposited. When thecoating reaches the desired thickness, the article is removed from thebath. Preferably, the article is rinsed with water and/or withultra-filtrate taken from the bath, to remove excess coating. Then thearticle is dried at ambient temperatures or baked for about 5 to 40minutes at about 100° to 200° C., preferably about 30 minutes at 175°C., to give a finished coating about 0.1 to 5 mils thick. Typicalefficiencies of about 30 mg film solids deposited per coulomb ofelectricity are obtained.

The current density used in the electrocoating cell generally does notexceed 1.85 amperes/cm² (0.3 amperes/in²) of anode surface which isimmersed in the bath, and it is preferable to use lower currentdensities. In the deposition of the cationic film-forming polymer,voltages of 5 to 400 for 0.25 to 2 minutes are preferred to form ahigh-quality finish.

Coating compositions of the present invention can contain pigments. Thepigments are normally added to the composition in the usual manner byforming a mill base or pigment dispersion with the pigment and theafore-mentioned cationic film-forming polymer or anotherwaste-dispersible polymer or surfactant. This mill base is then blendedwith additional film-forming constituents and the organic solvents. Whenthe mill base is subsequently acidified and dispersed in water, thepolymers tend to wrap themselves around the pigments. This has theeffect of preventing destabilization of the dispersion or otherundesirable effects that could come from using a basic pigment such asTiO₂ or lead silicate in an acid stabilized dispersion. Other pigmentsthat could be used include metallic oxides such as zinc oxides, ironoxides, and the like, metal flakes such as aluminum flake, metalpowders, mica flakes with and without surface treatment such as withtitania and carbon black, chromates such as lead chromates, sulfates,carbon black, silica, talc, lead silicates, aluminum silicates includingchina clay and finely divided kaolin, organic pigments and solubleorganic dyes.

Aside from cathodic electrodeposition, the novel coating compositions ofthe present invention can also be applied by any conventional methodsuch as spraying, electrostatic spraying, dipping, brushing, flowcoatingand the like. Reaction of the amine groups of the polymer with an acidis generally not necessary when the coating composition is to be usedfor purposes other than electrodeposition. Other organicthermallydecomposable acids, such as formic acid, can be used to obtainwater solubility for such purposes. The coating would then be baked forabout 5 to 40 minutes at about 150° to 200° C. to give coatings of about0.1-5 mils thickness. When applied by cathodic electrodeposition,coating compositions of the invention are preferably applied to givedried thicknesses of about 0.8-1.2 mils.

A valuable attribute of this invention is the ability to crosslink acationic resin which is alkaline in nature with conventional nitrogenformaldehyde resins which usually require an acidic environment as acatalyst, with curing at temperatures of 150°-175° C. A crosslinkingagent which can be water dispersed along with the film-formingconstituent is used in the coating composition. Based on the proportionsof solids in the bath, which are roughly equal to the proportions ofsolids in the film, about 60 to 95%, preferably about 70%, of cationicfilm-forming polymer are used along with about 5 to 40%, preferablyabout 30%, of crosslinking agent.

Typical crosslinking agents that can be used with the invention aremelamine formaldehyde, alkylated melamine-formaldehyde resins such ashexakis-(methoxymethyl) melamine and partially-methylated melamineformaldehyde resins, butylated melamine formaldehyde resins, methylatedurea-formaldehyde resins, urea-formaldehyde resins, phenol-formaldehydeand the like. One particularly useful crosslinking agent which forms ahigh-quality product with the cationic polymers is abenzoguanamine-formaldehyde resin used in conjunction with aurea-formaldehyde resin such as Beetle 80, produced by American CyanamidCo. A preferred benzoguanamine formaldehyde resin is XM 1125, alsoproduced by American Cyanamid Co.

When the novel compositions of this invention are used as primers overmetals including treated and untreated steel, aluminum and other metals,conventional acrylic enamels, acrylic dispersion enamels and othercoating compositions can be applied directly as topcoats over suchprimers. Acrylic lacquers, acrylic dispersion lacquers, and acrylicpowder coatings can be applied over the novel compositions, but asuitable intermediate coat such as a sealer can be used to improveadhesion of the lacquer or powder topcoats to the primer.

The epoxy adduct used in compositions of the invention contributessufficient hydrophobicity to the polymer so that the electrodepositedfilm contains at least about 83% solids, and preferably 85 to 95%solids. Although such high solids levels are not uncommon foranodically-deposited coatings, they are not readily achieved in cathodicelectrodeposition because of the amount of water usually entrapped.

Compositions of the invention can include additional adjuvants that donot materially change the basic and novel characteristics of theinvention and thus are within the scope of "consisting essentially"terminology. Some such adjuvants are thickeners, defoamers, pigments,microgels, pigments dispersants, polymeric powders, microbiocides, andcoalescing solvents. Typical coalescing solvents which might be used ata concentration of about 0.5% of the total bath volume are ethyleneglycol monobutyl ether, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, cyclohexanoland hexylcellosolve.

Although it is difficult to meaningfully quantify the softness orhardness of the resin, it is known that certain resins of the inventionhave a degree of hardness which is useful in combination with thehydrophobicity characteristics of the resins in forcing water out offilms to obtain the indicated levels of retained water and acid.

The molecular weights of polymers of the invention are generally notcritical. However, typical average molecular weights determined by gelpermeation chromatography are: for the acrylic-amine backboneportion--10,000 to 12,000, for the epoxy-fatty acid portion--1,500 to3,000, and for the reacted graft copolymer--about 12,000.

Although thoughts are expressed herein on why and how the advantages ofthe invention are obtained, the invention is defined by the claims anddoes not depend upon theories.

Specific examples will now be given of the preparation of graftcopolymers of the invention and their use in cathodic electrodepositionprocesses of the invention.

BEST MODE

Depending on the properties sought, the invention has various bestmodes, illustrated by the examples.

EXAMPLE I Polymerization of Acrylic Polyamine Dispersant

    ______________________________________                                                           Parts by Weight                                            ______________________________________                                        Portion I                                                                     Isopropyl alcohol    285.81                                                   Portion II                                                                    Ethyl acrylate       53.70                                                    Tertbutylamino ethyl methacrylate                                                                  264.92                                                   Hydroxy ethyl methacrylate                                                                         125.30                                                   Mercapto ethanol     7.16                                                     Portion III                                                                   Isopropyl alcohol    71.60                                                    Azobisisobutyronitrile                                                                             7.16                                                     Methyl ethyl ketone  17.90                                                    Portion IV                                                                    Methyl ethyl ketone  5.73                                                     Azobisisobutyronitrile                                                                             0.72                                                     Portion V                                                                     Ethylene glycol monoethyl ether                                                                    358.00                                                   ______________________________________                                    

Portion I is charged into a reaction vessel equipped with a directmixer, a reflux line condenser, stripping capability and a thermometer.The alcohol in Portion I is brought to reflux (80°-85° C.) and PortionsII and III are added simultaneously over a period of 60 minutes. Thesystem is kept at reflux during the addition of Portions II and III andis cooked for a further 60 minutes (under reflux) after the addition isended. Then Portion IV is added and reflux temperature is maintained foran additional 30 minutes. Then Portion V is added and 350 parts ofsolvent are stripped off or removed from the system.

EXAMPLE II Acrylic Polyamine Dispersant Without Nonfunctional AcrylicMonomer

    ______________________________________                                                           Parts by Weight                                            ______________________________________                                        Portion I                                                                     Isopropyl alcohol    1200.00                                                  Portion II                                                                    Tertbutylamino ethyl methacrylate                                                                  1110.00                                                  Hydroxy ethyl methacrylate                                                                         525.00                                                   Azobisisobutyronitrile                                                                             30.00                                                    Portion III                                                                   Ethylene glycol monoethyl ether                                                                    1200.00                                                  ______________________________________                                    

Portion I is charged into a reaction vessel equipped as in Example I,the solvent is brought to reflux (80°-85° C.), and then Portion II isadded over a period of 60 minutes at reflux temperature. After theaddition of Portion II, the system is kept at reflux temperature for onehour, and Portion III is added. The system is brought to reflux, and1200 parts of solvent are stripped off.

EXAMPLE III Acrylic Polyamine Dispersant With Cardura E Graft

    ______________________________________                                                             Parts by Weight                                          ______________________________________                                        Portion I                                                                     Isopropyl alcohol      285.81                                                 Portion II                                                                    Ethyl acrylate         53.70                                                  Tertbutylamine ethyl methacrylate                                                                    264.92                                                 Hydroxy ethyl methacrylate                                                                           125.30                                                 Mercapto ethanol       7.16                                                   Portion III                                                                   Isopropyl alcohol      71.60                                                  Azobisisobutyronitrile 7.16                                                   Methyl ethyl ketone    17.90                                                  Portion IV                                                                    Methyl ethyl ketone    5.73                                                   Azobisisobutyronitrile 0.72                                                   Portion V                                                                     Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether                                                                      246.57                                                 "Cardura E-10" (glycidyl ester of                                                                    137.70                                                 epichlorohydrin reacted with                                                  versatic acid 911, produced                                                   by Shell Oil Co.)                                                             Portion VI                                                                    Ethylene glycol monoethyl ether                                                                      5.00                                                   Benzyltrimethyl ammonium hydroxide                                                                   3.77                                                   ______________________________________                                    

Portion I is charged into reaction vessel equipped as described inExample I. The alcohol in Portion I is brought to reflux (80°-85° C.),and Portions II and III are added simultaneously over a period of 60minutes. The system is kept at reflux during the addition of Portions IIand III and is cooked for a further 60 minutes at reflux after theaddition is ended. Then Portion III is added, and reflux temperature ismaintained for an additional 30 minutes. Then Portion V is added, and381 parts of solvent are stripped to enable the system to reach maximumreflux temperatures of 135°-140° C. Then Portion VI is added, and thereaction mixture is cooked for ten hours at 135°-140° C.

EXAMPLE IV Acrylic Polyamine Dispersant With "Cardura E" Graft andWithout Nonfunctional Acrylic Monomer

    ______________________________________                                                             Parts by Weight                                          ______________________________________                                        Portion I                                                                     Isopropyl alcohol      1200.00                                                Portion II                                                                    Tertbutylamino ethyl methacrylate                                                                    1110.00                                                Hydroxy ethyl methacrylate                                                                           525.00                                                 Azobisisobutyronitrile 30.00                                                  Portion III                                                                   Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether                                                                      1200.00                                                Cardura E-10 (as in Example III)                                                                     661.00                                                 Portion IV                                                                    Benzyl trimethyl ammonium hydroxide                                                                  3.00                                                   Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether                                                                      5.00                                                   ______________________________________                                    

Portion I is charged into reaction vessel equipped as described inExample I. The alcohol in Portion I is brought to reflux (80°-85° C.),and Portion II is added over the period of 60 minutes at refluxtemperature. After the addition of Portion II, the system is kept atreflux temperature for one hour, and Portion III is added. The system isbrought to reflux, and 1200 parts of solvent are stripped off. ThenPortion IV is added, and the system is cooked at reflux for 5 hours at150°-160° C.

EXAMPLE V Epoxy Resin/Nonylphenol Adduct To be Codispersed with theAcrylic Polyamine Dispersant

    ______________________________________                                                             Parts by Weight                                          ______________________________________                                        Portion I                                                                     "DER 661" (Epoxy resin from Dow                                                                      440.50                                                 Chemical)                                                                     Nonylphenol            176.20                                                 Portion II                                                                    Benzyl trimethyl ammonium hydroxide                                                                  0.43                                                   Portion III                                                                   Ethylene glycol monoethyl ether                                                                      263.87                                                 ______________________________________                                    

Portion I is charged into a reaction vessel equipped with a mixer,thermometer and condenser. The epoxy resin is melted at temperatures of130°-140° C. Then Portion II is added, and the mixture is cooked at150°-160° C. for five hours. Then Portion III is added and mixed in for30 minutes.

EXAMPLE VI Preparation of Clear Dispersion of Cathodic Paint

    ______________________________________                                                            Parts by Weight                                           ______________________________________                                        Portion I                                                                     Acrylic polyamine polymer made                                                                      102.53                                                  in Example III                                                                Epoxy nonylphenol polymer made                                                                      136.70                                                  in Example V                                                                  "Cymel 1125" (American Cyanamid)                                                                    99.92                                                   Portion II                                                                    Lactic acid (85%)     6.59                                                    Portion III                                                                   Deionized water       514.26                                                  ______________________________________                                    

Charge Portion I into a mixing vessel. Mix for 2 hours. Add Portion IIand mix for 1 hour. Add Portion III over the period of 2 hours withcontinuous agitation.

EXAMPLE VII Preparation of Pigment Paste (Mill Base) to be Used inCathodic Paint

    ______________________________________                                                          Parts by Weight                                             ______________________________________                                        Portion I                                                                     Resin prepared in Example I                                                                       16.45                                                     Ethylene glycol monoethyl ether                                                                   4.03                                                      Lactic acid (85%)   3.03                                                      Portion II                                                                    Deionized water     24.74                                                     Portion III - Pigments                                                        Magnesium silicate (diatomaceous                                                                  20.85                                                     earth pigment)                                                                Lead silicochromate 10.79                                                     Lead silicate       22.80                                                     Carbon black        2.32                                                      ______________________________________                                    

Portion I is charged into a mixer and mixed for 30 minutes. Portion IIis added over the period of 30 minutes, then Portion III is added, andthe total system is mixed for 1 hour. The premix of above ingredients ischarged into a conventional sand mill and ground while controlling thetemperature of the mixture below 70° C. The resulting pigment paste isself-dispersable in water and has a solids content of 60-62%.

EXAMPLE VIII Preparation of Cathodic Paint

    ______________________________________                                        Portion I            Parts by Weight                                          ______________________________________                                        Clear dispersion from Example VI                                                                   860.00                                                   Pigment paste from Example VII                                                                     105.00                                                   Deionized water      880.00                                                   ______________________________________                                    

The ingredients are added in above order into a mixing tank withcontinuous agitation. The elctrocoating composition has a pH of 6.3-6.8,conductivity of 700-1000 micromhos, pigment-to-binder ratio of about25/100 and solids of about 24%. It is charged into a stainless steeltank for electrodeposition, and an untreated cold rolled steel panel ora phosphatized steel panel is positioned in the center of the tank,electrically connected to the negative side of a DC power source,forming the cathode of the electrocoating cell. The tank is connected tothe positive side of a DC power sorce, thus forming the anode of thecell. A direct current of 150-400 volts is applied to the cell for twominutes at an ambient temperature of 20°-35° C., and a paint of about15-20 μm is deposited on the panel. The coated metal panel is removedfrom the electrocoating cell, washed and baked at about 160° C. for 30minutes. The resulting primer film has excellent adhesion to the metalsubstrate, is hard and has very good corrosion and saponificationresistance over bare cold rolled steel and phosphatized steel. Anacrylic enamel adheres to the primer film, and conventional acryliclacquers can be applied with conventional sealer coat over the primer toform a high quality finish. The system has excellent throwing power in ablind throw-measuring box of 35.5-38 cm at 350-400 volts.

This coating composition is particularly useful for priming automobileand truck bodies by electrodeposition for maximum corrosion protectionover all parts of the car including areas of poor phosphate pretreatmentor no pretreatment at all.

EXAMPLE IX Acrylic Polymer Used For Durable Finishes To Be Codispersedwith the Acrylic Polyamine Dispersant

    ______________________________________                                                             Parts by Weight                                          ______________________________________                                        Portion I                                                                     Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether                                                                      252.10                                                 Cardura E-10           134.82                                                 Portion II                                                                    Styrene                205.18                                                 Butyl acrylate         146.55                                                 Methacrylic acid       99.72                                                  Ditertiary butyl perbenzoate                                                                         17.63                                                  Portion III                                                                   Cardura E-10           177.00                                                 Benzyl trimethyl ammonium hydroxide                                                                  1.50                                                   ______________________________________                                    

Charge Portion I into a reaction vessel as described in Example Iwithout stripping capability. Bring Portion I to reflux and add PortionII at reflux temperature over the period of 90 minutes. Hold batch atreflux for 2 hours after the addition of Portion II. Add Portion III andcook at reflux (150°-160° C.) for 3 hours.

EXAMPLE X Polybutadiene Polymer to be Dispersed With the AcrylicPolyamine Dispersant

Example IX is repeated, except that 78.43 parts by weight ofpolybutadiene is substituted for Portion II.

EXAMPLE XI Polyester Polymer to be Dispersed With the Acrylic PolyamineDispersant

Example IX is repeated except that 470 parts by weight of "Ruccoflex"polyester produced by Hooker Chemical Co. is substituted for Portion II.

EXAMPLE XII Clear Acrylic Paint Useful As a Finish For Products Such AsAluminum Wheels, Brass Hardware

    ______________________________________                                                           Parts by Weight                                            ______________________________________                                        Portion I                                                                     Polymer made in Example III                                                                        60.43                                                    Polymer made in Example IX                                                                         78.43                                                    Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether                                                                    5.00                                                     Cymel 1141 (American Cyanamid)                                                                     39.22                                                    Portion II                                                                    Lactic acid (85%)    4.80                                                     Deionized water      5.20                                                     Portion III                                                                   Deionized water      831.92                                                   ______________________________________                                    

Portion I is charged to a mixing vessel and mixed for 2 hours. ThenPortion II is added and mixed for 1 hour. Then Portion III is addedslowly to invert the system into a stable water dispersion with a pH of6.1 and sensitivity of 1900 ohm-cm. Coating voltages of brass fixtureswas 70-120 volts with thickness of deposited film ranging from 15 to 25μm. The film cures to a hard, glossy, clear finish at 30 minutes in 177°C.

EXAMPLE XIII Black Pigment Paste For Acrylic Cathodic Paint

    ______________________________________                                                          Parts by Weight                                             ______________________________________                                        Portion I                                                                     Polymer made in Example III                                                                       16.50                                                     Ethylene glycol monoethyl ether                                                                   5.61                                                      Portion II                                                                    Lactic acid (85%)   1.45                                                      Deionized water     1.24                                                      Portion III                                                                   Deionized water     40.00                                                     Portion IV                                                                    Magnesium silicate  21.29                                                     Carbon black        6.36                                                      Portion V                                                                     Deionized water     7.55                                                      ______________________________________                                    

Charge Portion I into mixing vessel and mix for 20 minutes. PremixPortion II and add to Portion I. Mix for 20 minutes. Add Portion III tomixing vessel and mix for 30 minutes. Add Portion IV in order intomixing vessel and mix for one hour. Add Portion V to mixing vessel toadjust viscosity to a Stromer viscosity level of about 65 Krebs units.Then grind the mixture using regular sand grinding techniques to afineness of about 12.5 μm.

EXAMPLE XIV Semi-Gloss Black Acrylic Paint Useful As a Single Coat orPrimer For Products Such as Farm Equipment, Speakers, Automotive SmallParts

    ______________________________________                                                            Parts by Weight                                           ______________________________________                                        Portion I                                                                     Polymer made in Example III                                                                         52.66                                                   Polymer made in Example IX                                                                          78.43                                                   "Cymel 1141" (American Cyanamid)                                                                    39.22                                                   Ethylene glycol monoethyl ether                                                                     15.00                                                   Portion II                                                                    Lactic acid (85%)     4.07                                                    Deionized water       4.24                                                    Portion III                                                                   Pigment paste in Example XI                                                                         47.02                                                   2-ethyl hexanol       3.00                                                    Portion IV                                                                    Deionized water       881.36                                                  ______________________________________                                    

Charge Portion I into mixing vessel and mix for 1 hour. Add Portion II(premixed) and mix for 1 hour. Add Portion III in order and mix for 30minutes. Add Portion IV slowly to invert the total paint system and mixfor 30 minutes after the addition of Portion IV is ended. The paintobtained has a pH of 6.1 and resistivity of 1300 ohm-cm at 13% solids.

Iron phosphate and zinc phosphate precoated panels are coated at 75-100volts with film builds of 0.9-1.0 mil. The specular gloss determined atan angle of 60° by a Hunter D48D gloss meter is 50-60 units. The systemcures at 177° C. in 30 minutes.

I claim:
 1. An aqueous cathodic electrodeposition coating composition comprising a dispersion of a first polymer, a second polymer, enough of an organic acid to give the composition a pH about in the range of 6 to 7, and optionally a nitrogen resin crosslinker, said coating composition containing, by weight based on the first and second polymers, about 20-70% of a first polymer which is a copolymer comprising a backbone and a graft pendent to the backbone, said backbone containing amine functional groups and hydroxy functional groups, characterized in that said backbone contains at least about 0.13 equivalent of amine groups per 100 grams of first polymer and at least about 0.03 equivalent of hydroxyl groups per 100 grams of first polymer, and containing, by weight, the equivalent of about:(a) 35-90% amine functional monomers, (b) 10-60% hydroxy functional monomers, (c) 0-40% nonfunctional acrylic or methacrylix monomers, and (d) 0-5% chain-terminating monomersthe total of (a), (b), (c) and (d) being 100% of said backbone, said graft comprising a monoglycidyl ester of at least one tertiary carboxylic acid containing 9-20 carbon atoms and being grafted to said amine groups in said backbone, said copolymer containing about 1-30% by weight of said graft, and, by weight based on the first and second polymers, about 80-30% of a second polymer which is an epoxy resin reacted with, based on the weight of said second polymer, about 80-150% of an entity selected from the group consisting of alkyl phenols, alkyl alcohols and alkyl hydroxy ethers, with 1-20 carbon atoms in the alkyl groups, hydroxyamines, fatty amines and mercaptans.
 2. The composition of claim 1 containing about 35-50% of said first polymer and 50-65% of said second polymer.
 3. The composition of claim 1 wherein said first polymer is a copolymer consisting essentially of, by weight, about:(a) 40-50% amine functional monomers, (b) 15-40% hydroxy functional monomers, (c) 5-20% nonfunctional acrylic or methacrylic monomers, and (d) 0.5-3% chain-terminating monomers,said first polymer containing at least about 0.25 equivalent of amine groups per 100 grams of first polymer and at least about 0.15 equivalent of hydroxyl groups per 100 grams of first polymer.
 4. The composition of claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein in said first polymer, the amine functional monomers of (a) are selected fromdiethylaminoethyl methacrylate and acrylate, dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate and acrylate, tertbutylaminoethyl methacrylate and acrylate, dimethylaminopropyl methacrylamide and acrylamide 2-, 3-, and 4-vinylpyridine vinylimidazole aminoethyl methacrylate and acrylate, methylaminoethyl methacrylate and acrylate, ethylaminoethyl methacrylate and acrylate, hydroxyethylaminoethyl methacrylate and acrylate, di(hydroxyethyl)aminoethyl methacrylate and acrylate; the hydroxy-functional monomers of (b) are selected from hydroxyethyl acrylate and methacrylate and hydroxypropyl acrylate and methacrylate; the nonfunctional acrylic or methacrylic monomers of (c) are selected from styrene acrylate and methacrylate and alkyl acrylates and methacrylates with 1-10 carbon atoms in the alkyl, and the chain-terminating monomers are selected from mercaptoethanol and dodecylmercaptan.
 5. The composition of claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the first polymer contains, by weight, about:(a) 59% tertbutylethylamino methacrylate, (b) 28% hydroxyethyl methacrylate, (c) 12% ethyl acrylate, and (d) 1% mercaptoethanol,said polymer containing about 0.32 equivalent amine groups per 100 grams of polymer and about 0.22 equivalent hydroxyl groups per 100 grams of polymer.
 6. The composition of claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the first polymer contains, by weight, about:(a) 69% tertbutylethylamino methacrylate and (b) 31% hydroxyethyl methacrylate.
 7. The composition of claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein, in the second polymer, the selected entity is nonylphenol.
 8. The composition of claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein, in the second polymer, the selected entity is dodecylmercaptan.
 9. The composition of claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein, in the second polymer, the selected entity is a fatty amine.
 10. The composition of claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein said first polymer comprises a backbone having grafted onto it, based on the weight of said backbone, about 0-50% of a glycidyl ester of at least one tertiary carboxylic acid containing 9-11 carbon atoms.
 11. The composition of claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the crosslinker polymer is selected from benzoguanamine, urea formaldehyde and melamine formaldehyde and is present in an amount of about 30-70% by weight, based on the weight of the first and second polymers.
 12. The composition of claim 11 wherein the crosslinker polymer is benzoguanamine, present in an amount of about 45-50%.
 13. The composition of claim 1 wherein said composition has a pH about in the range of 6.5 to 7.0.
 14. The composition of claim 1 wherein said copolymer is present in the form of dispersed particles having a higher pH at the surface of said particles than inside said particles. 